Fleshing tool



w" mu Sept. 11, 1956 R. .1. HERMANN 2,762,122

' FLESHING TOOL Filed Feb. 17. 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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Sept. 11, 1956 R. J. HERMANN FLESHING TOOL 2 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1954 2,762,122 Patented Sept. -1?1,"1 '956 FLESHING:TOQL

I =RomanJ. Hermann, Sheboygan, 'Wis. Application February 17, 1954, Serial No. 41G,9;1-1

Claims. (Cl. 391'16) .The invention relatestoa fleshing tool .forremoving fat, flesh, and other tissue that may adhereto the back .ofapeltof a fnrbearing animal .afterskinning.

Usually the pelts of a fur-"bearing animal, such'as mink, for example, are placed 'directlyafter removalin a deep freeze unit .at temperatures around zero :Fahrenheit in which they are kept for about twenty-four hours and then are taken out and staked inside-out on a post or sometimes an-inserted board or spread out flatgonaboard and tacked down. After the pelt is staked out, it is fleshed without undue delay so fat adhering to the inside of the skin Will-still be hard and-brittle so it-and flakes of'flesh or other tissue can be readily removed from the In the past'the practice-has been-to use a dull knife :to remove the materials adhering'to the skin. Too dull a knife is inefiective, and if the :knife jistoo sharp, there is danger of cutting the hide. Tools having fixed wires-have been used, but such wires do not speed up the fieshing process but have somewhat the same hazardous qualities as the knife because there is always a tendency of the operator to put too much pressure on the wire. The object of the present invention is to provide a flashing tool using an oscillating or reciprocating wire which works behind the flakes of fat and shreds of flesh and tissue so readily that there is no occasion for the operator to bear down on the wire. As a result, fleshing can be accomplished more rapidly than heretofore and without danger of damage to the skin.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter set forth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation view showing the tool in use;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the tool embodying the invention, parts being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical sectional view through the main body of the tool;

Fig. 4 is a detailed vertical sectional view through one end of the tool;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation view of the tool showing certain modifications;

Fig. 6 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view through the tool shown in Fig. 5, parts being broken away.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawing, the fleshing tool includes a frame having an arched or bowed section 9 and handles 10 and 11, a wire 12, and means for rapidly reciprocating said wire.

The handle 11 has a threaded connection 13 with one end of section 9 and one end of the wire 12 passes through an apertured guide plug 14 and is anchored to a threaded member 15 which is yieldingly mounted in the handle 11 by a compression spring 16 interposed between section 9 and a spring seat washer 17 which is locked in tension 2 adjusting position -:by a nut 18 and-lock nut 1-9-mo1inted on member 15.

The'wire12 passes throughan apertured guideplug 20 vin theother end of section .9 and 'isanchored at its other end to the outer end of aconnecting rod 121 whosezabig end is journalled on a ball bearing journal 22'mo11nted on the eccentrically disposed crank 23 of a shaft journalled in ball bearing journals 25 mounted in an angled extension 26 of the handle 18. The shaft has a threaded .extension, as shown in 'Fig. :4, adapted to be coupled to one end of a flexible drive shaft 27 whoseother end (not shown) connects in known manner. withthe drive shaft of an electric motor. -The-motor.is;a fractional horse power which drives the shaiit :24 at about 1650 to 1750, R. P..M.:so.that as the shaftiiszrevolved, a rapid reciprocatory :action orjlength-wisemovement is imparted to the wire 12 by alternatecompression :a'ndexpansion of the spring 16 by its 1connectionzwith therod 21 through said wire. The spring 11.6 maintains the wire 512.

in a tensioned .con'ditionatxall times. A speed of about 1700 R. P. M. has been found to be -satisfaetory,lbut higher or. lower speedsmay be usedso longas an increased speed does not act-to set up heat conditions i'betweenzthe wire and thepelt ;-which would tend tObUm'thBfP BIL GI' a decreased speed does not entail 'anincreased pressure .contact of the wire with .the pelt.

in Fig. ll have shown'the toolin a working position on an animal pelt P which has been staked over a POSC'Z'Z.

'While the spring '16 in conjunction with the connecting rod 21 provides a simple drive for the \Vllfiylt takes con- .siderablemotor energy'to exert a1pull:,on:the spring 16, and in order to reduce ;the :energy expendimre :1 have shown in Figs. 5 to 8 a modified form of the invention in which the wire W is positively reciprocated or moved lengthwise in both directions by an electric motor.

In the modified form the arched frame 29 is of hollow or channel construction having a handle 30 secured thereto at one end and a motor housing 31 secured thereto and forming a handle at the other end. The handle 30 is shown as carrying a rubber hand grip sleeve 32.

The motor in the housing 31 is preferably a small high speed motor with a geared head reduction 33 so that the crank 34 secured to the output side of the reduction will be rotated at a speed lower than motor speed but at about the same speed as the flexible shaft 27 of the first construction. Any suitable hand switch such as the switch S indicated in Fig. 5 may be used to start and stop the motor.

A lever 35 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends at 36 in one leg or side of the arched frame 29, and a similar lever 37 is pivotally mounted at 38 in the other leg or side of the frame 29. Levers 35 and 37 are operatively connected together by a link formed by rods 39, each having a forked end 40 pivotally connected by a pin 41 with the upper end of its associated lever and connected together at their other threaded ends by a right and left hand threaded coupling 42 having an apertured boss 43 for use with a suitable tool for lengthening or shortening the link. The lever 35 at .its lower end has a wire coupling member 44 pivotally connected thereto by a pin 45 and to which one end of the wire W is clamped by a set screw 46. The lever 37 at its lower end has a wire coupling member 47 pivotally connected thereto by a pin 48 and to which the other end of the wire W is clamped by a set screw 49. With the ends of the wire W clamped to the lower ends of the levers 35 and 37 the wire is tensioned by shortening up the link by turning the coupling 42 to draw the inner ends of the rods 39 into said couplings until the desired tension is reached.

A connecting rod 50 is pivotally mounted at one end on the eccentrically disposed crank 34 and pivotally mounted at its other end on the pin 48 of the lever 37.

With the above modified construction rotation of the crank 34 causes an oscillatory movement of the lever 37 and through the link and wire connections above described an oscillatory movement of the lever 35 so that the wire .W is given a rapid back and forth movementrelative to the frame.

,In this instance while the wire W as a whole has a lengthwise movement imparted to it, it also has an oscillatory movement in a vertical plane determined by the amplitude of swing ,of the lower ends of the levers 35 and I desire it to be understood thatthis invention is not to be limited to any particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as such limitations are included in the'claims.

What Iclaim as my inventionis:

1. In a fleshing tool, the combination of a frame hav-V .ing a bowed portion and alined fixed handles projecting outwardly from the lower ends of the legs of said bowed, portion, a tensioned wire extending across the base of said bowed portion, means for mounting said wire for movement lengthwise of said frame, and '"means mounted in said frame for imparting a rapid lengthwise reciprocatory movement to'said wire relative to said frame.

2. In a fleshing tool, the combination of a frame having a bowed portion and alinedfixed handles projecting outwardly from the lower ends of the legs of said bowed 1 portion, a wire'extending'across and movable lengthwise across the opening formed by'the bowed portion of said frame, a yieldable spring mounting in'one handle for one end of the wire, and a rotary shaft, and means within the other handle for connecting the other end of said wire to said shaft to impart a rapid reciprocatory movement to said wire as said spring iscompressed and expanded.

4. In a fleshing tool, the combination of a frame having a bowed portion and alined fixed handles projecting outwardly from thelower ends of the'legs of said bowed portion, a pair of levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends on the legs of said bowed portion, a rigid adjustable link connection between similar arms of said' levers, a wire connected at its ends to the other arms'of said levers said wire being tensioned by the adjustment of said link and extending across the base of said bowed portion, and means for oscillating said levers to impart a lengthwise reciprocatory movement to said wire relative to said frame. v

5. The fleshing tool'as defined in claim.4 wherein the means for oscillating said levers is'a connecting rod operatively connected to one of said levers and to a rotatable crank which is driven by an electric motor mounted in one of said handles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,337,236 Gamble e- Dec. 21, 1943 2,422,221 Caudland 11111617, 1941 2,450,502 Culdice Oct. 5, 1948 2,455,505 Lamy Dec. 7, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 7 Sweden 'V July 15, 1941' 

